Talk to Action

Message from Theocracy Watch:

Talk to Action, the first national interactive blog site devoted to discussing the theocratic Christian Right and what to do about it, will launch on Monday, November 21st, 2005.

Talk to Action, founded by author Frederick Clarkson, blogger Bruce Wilson, and 14 other writers, seeks to advance the national conversation on this subject.

"We are concerned about the theocratic tendencies of the religious right in the United States," said Clarkson. "Among other things, claims that America is a Christian Nation; sectarian approaches to public policy such as efforts to require the teaching of "intelligent design"; the movement to redefine our laws in terms of religious laws; and a growing culture of religious intolerance and religious supremacism. We welcome anyone who shares our concerns to think and learn with us. Strategize with us. Debate with us."

Clarkson, the author of the book, Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy, has written about politics and religion for more than 20 years. The founding writers also include: Chip Berlet, Senior Analyst, Political Research Associates; Joan Bokaer, founder of Theocracy Watch; Esther Kaplan, author of With God on Their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, Policy and Democracy in George Bush's White House; Dr. Bruce Prescott, Executive Director, Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists; noted blogger, Pastordan, a minister in the United Church of Christ who operates the blog site, Street Prophets; and Joel Pelletier, an artist whose remarkable painting American Fundamentalists, is touring the United States.

On Tuesday, November 29th, Talk to Action will, in partnership with the San Francisco-based Mother Jones magazine, host a national "e-conference," on the Talk to Action site, featuring writers and editors of Mother Jones which is publishing several articles about the religious right in the next issue.

Talk to Action, like such major blog sites as The Daily Kos, uses "scoop" software, that has proved to be highly conducive to online discussion. The site differs from other major sites, however, in that it seeks to be less freewheeling in tone as well as content. Talk to Action seeks a more thoughtful, civil, and nonpartisan tone than is found on many sites. While anyone can read the site, those who agree with its general purpose are welcome to become registered users, publish their own essays, and comment on the posts of others.

"We favor religious equality and separation of church and state," Clarkson said. "We support reproductive freedom and gay and lesbian civil rights -- including marriage equality. Therefore," he says, "debates about abortion and gay rights are off topic on this site. We understand that there are those who may be concerned generally about the politics of the Christian Right, who may not completely share our view on these matters. They are welcome to participate anyway, but bearing this in mind. Our purpose is to take the conversation forward, and not let it be held back by debating what, in our view are or should be, settled matters of human and civil rights."

Interesting that "a fetus is a human being with the right to live" is (apparently) considered an idea so obviously discredited that it is not worthy of conversation. But no doubt "Jesus is the Son of God and will save your eternal soul" is considered a perfectly respectable assertion by many of the founders of Talk to Action.

But ya gotta start somewhere. And when it comes to conversation about religion in the United States, you really have to grade on the curve. If a given conversation is only somewhat hobbled by plain insanity, it's starting off ahead of the pack.

Anyway, we all know that liberal "Baptists" who join up with anti-theocracy efforts are really just fifth columnists who are going to help us atheists completely destroy Christianity as soon as the time is right.

Aw, Christ, did I blog that or just think that?